Denver Section of the National Council of Negro Women is dedicated to helping women be the best they can be, and celebrating those who go the extra mile. Each spring, to mark International Women’s Month, the members select a distinguished group of adults and teens to reign as Living Portraits of African-American Women.

The honorees are recognized at a reception held at Denver’s Central Library. While there is no charge for attending, the members ask guests to help support a local charity. This year, attendees brought diapers, baby wipes and other personal care items for the clients at Champa House.

Tracy Winchester, executive director of the Five Points Business District, served as the moderator, interviewing each of the honorees to learn more about why they were chosen as outstanding representatives from the fields of community service, elected official, business, philanthropy and youth leadership.

The biographical information that follows is excerpted from the event’s printed program.

Laurin Gilmour and Casey Gunning offered an enthusiastic welcome to the 1,200 guests. (Steve Peterson, Special to The Denver Post)

My story in the print edition of today’s Denver Post has all the facts and figures surrounding the third Be Beautiful Be Yourself Jet Set Fashion Show: The amount of money raised ($1.45 million gross), how many people were there (1,200) and the celebrities in attendance (Quincy Jones, Jamie Foxx, Jeff Probst, Stepfanie Kramer, Timothy Shriver, Chauncey Billups, Ed McCaffrey, Billy Van Heusen, David Duval, Eric Hutchinson).

I was able to squeeze a lot of information into a limited amount of space, but not everything would fit. Thank goodness for blogs, because there’s plenty of room on the Internet. So, with no further ado, here are some fun things that otherwise would have wound up on the cutting room floor:

Quincy Jones is a music business legend, an award-winning (27 Grammys) composer, producer and arranger who has worked with everyone from Lesley Gore to Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson, whose Jones-produced album, “Thriller,” sold 110 million copies. Jones was the force behind the legendary group recording of “We Are the World,” and was the first African American to be made music director for the Academy Awards.

The man also knows his shoes.

When Kalleen Malone (her husband Bob’s Steele Street Bank and Trust shared a $50,000 sponsorship with Land Title Guarantee Co.) stood next to him for a red carpet photo op, Jones took a minute to admire the rhinestone-studded Dolce & Gabbana high-heeled sandals she was wearing.

“He said he really liked them,” Kalleen marveled. “I’m totally flabbergasted … I mean, how many men would notice the shoes?” Read more…